A student asked me today: “Does Putin really believe what he says?” Lenin believed, Stalin believed, Mussolini believed, Hitler believed, Antonescu believed, Mao believed, Andropov believed, Pol Pot believed, Ceausescu believed, why not believe Putin?

A year has passed. I will not assert: on February 24, 2022, the Russian Federation started a war not only against Ukraine, but also against the principles, values ​​and institutions that define the Euro-Atlantic civilization. I have no data to estimate exactly how popular the war is in Putin’s Russia. But I know that in the urban environment, especially in the intellectual world, there is real opposition. The problem of evil is central to Russian thought. This is a problem of demonism, love and unbridled nihilism. Behind the marble mask of Putin hides the smile of Piotr Verkhovensky.

A student asked me today: “Does Putin really believe what he says?” Lenin believed, Stalin believed, Mussolini believed, Hitler believed, Antonescu believed, Mao believed, Andropov believed, Pol Pot believed, Ceausescu believed, why not believe Putin? Born and raised in the conditions of propaganda, the hero does not want and cannot distinguish between ideological mirage and reality. Gets drunk on slogans. Shamelessly falsifies history. A hooligan who is distinguished by bullying, bribery and cruelty. Terrible banality.

Russia’s war against Ukraine has led to the radicalization of Kremlin pipes in Romania and beyond. The goals remain the same: denying the truth about Putin and Putinism, supporting Russian positions, hostile to NATO and the EU, slandering democratic figures in Romania, promoting pathetic, aggressive and violent pseudo-nationalism. Suspension of activity The Russian “Cultural” Center is saving, necessary, but not enough. Romania’s national interest means supporting a military-political alliance that guarantees the country’s independence. It is not my job to name Putin’s offices. But they exist, they are visible, audible, legible and polluting.